Temporary and election employment

Updated: 29 April 2016

The AEC employs approximately 70 000 polling officials for each federal election. The AEC also maintains a register of interest which may be accessed to fill other temporary positions throughout the periods between elections.

How do I apply for temporary employment?

You will be asked to provide contact details, basic personal information and answer a number of yes/no questions. Once you complete this step, you will be sent a username and password to your mobile phone or email address.

Once you receive your username and password, the second step is to submit a Registration of Interest.

To do this, you will need to logon with your login details and complete your Registration of Interest.Please note: it is important that you select the declaration at the top of the summary page and click the submit button. Your information will not load into the system until you have completed this step.

Character clearance

Some temporary employees may be required to undertake a character clearance. This involves agreeing to have a police record check into your background.

Political neutrality

The AEC operates in a politically sensitive environment. Any person who is, and is seen to be, active in political affairs, and intends to publicly carry on this activity, may compromise the strict political neutrality of the AEC. An employee who does not adhere to the standard of political neutrality may have his or her employment terminated.

Paying income tax

Most Australian citizens who work in Australia pay income tax during the year via the "pay as you go" method – where the employer works out how much income tax to take out of the individual's wages and sends it on to the ATO. You may apply for exemption of tax to be deducted from your wages, if you meet the necessary criteria.

Variation of Income Tax Withholding Rate form [PDF 12KB]
– only to be used if an individual does not want tax to be deducted from their earnings and if the person's anticipated income earned from the AEC and all other sources in the 2015/2016 financial year does not exceed the appropriate tax-free threshold.

Do I have to be an Australian citizen to work for the AEC?

The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 does not specifically require applicants for temporary employment to be Australian citizens, however certain categories of temporary employment require the witnessing of documentation, and thus must be undertaken by enrolled electors.

Are there age limits to working with the AEC?

Persons under the age of 18 years are not permitted (due to legislative restrictions) to work as an Officer in Charge, Second in Charge or an Issuing Officer. However, persons under the age of 18 years are able to undertake roles such as temporary assistants or scrutiny assistants.

Assistance for Indigenous applicants

The AEC is committed to creating a staffing profile at polling places that reflects the cultural diversity of the communities we serve and to close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage in electoral participation.